Stop Feeding Your Mind Junk Food
This week’s call to action is for you to proactively start bringing more positive messages into your life.
This week I want you to pay close attention to the messages you’re receiving as you go throughout your day. I’m not talking about text messages and IMs here; I’m talking about the interactions you have with the people in your life as well as the information you take in from outside sources like the news media and social media.
You may not have ever really paid attention to this before, but if you do, I promise it will be a real eye-opener. See if you can determine whether the people you come into contact with and the information you are presented with fill your day with positive, supportive messages or whether they bombard you with negativity.
I firmly believe our thoughts drive our behavior and play a crucial role in how happy and successful we are. There are plenty of personal productivity teachers and motivational speakers who will back me up on this. But I’m also convinced that the information that we deal with as we go throughout our day can have a significant influence over those thoughts.
If you work with a bunch of miserable people, watch the world news daily and read through the drama on Facebook several times a day, how can that not have an impact on you? If you’re able to rise above the constant negativity that exists in the world today and stay positive, you are a truly special person. More than likely, though, it will start to wear on you over time.
Now I’m not suggesting that you bury your head in the sand or completely cut yourself off from the outside world. What I’m suggesting is to take time to analyze what the world is feeding you on a consistent basis and then decide if you need to change your information diet.
Please don’t go cold turkey on the news and social media, I still think you need to stay connected with people and keep up with what’s going on in the world, but how much negativity and drama are you willing to take before you do something about it?
So what can you do about it? Steer clear of negative people as much as possible. Let them find other negative people and be miserable together. Excuse yourself from conversations that revolve around gossip or constant complaining. Be selective in where you get your news. The source matters more than you think. Take a few minutes to skim the headlines, but don’t spend a lot of time watching or reading local or world news.
Limit the amount of time you spend on social media. Set a timer on apps like Facebook and Instagram and take some of your time back. I recently did this and was shocked at how quickly 15 minutes goes by when you’re mindlessly scrolling.
With that extra time, find something positive to chew on. Read something inspirational, watch an uplifting movie (check out Angel Studios if you aren’t familiar with it already), touch base with someone supportive who always makes you feel better about yourself. Consume some positivity for a change.
If you can get in the habit of proactively bringing positivity into your life and reducing the amount of negativity you’re subjected to, you’ll be amazed at how much happier you will be. You’ll also notice that your good days will vastly outnumber your bad days. I’m not suggesting everything will be perfect all the time, but once you begin to take a proactive approach to life rather than just dealing with things as they come, you’ll have a much better chance at creating the life you want to live.
So that’s your action for this week, and I’m very interested to hear your reactions to this. How hard was it for you to pay attention to the information coming at you? Were you able to reduce the negativity and increase the positivity in your life? If so, how did you do it? Did it have any impact on you? Do you plan to make it a habit?
Remember, you CAN make an impact, and you CAN lead a full life.